


Stay

by the_savage_daughter_0627



Series: ZK December Drabble [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Agni Kai (Avatar), Badass Katara (Avatar), Drabble, Drabble Collection, F/M, Gen, Hurt Zuko (Avatar), Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, POV Zuko (Avatar), Post-Avatar: The Last Airbender, Post-Canon, Prompt Fic, Short One Shot, Zuko (Avatar)-centric, Zuko's Scar (Avatar), Zutara Drabble December 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:20:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28103832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_savage_daughter_0627/pseuds/the_savage_daughter_0627
Summary: Zuko wakes in his room after the final Agni Kai and finds that Katara has saved his life.Written for the Zutara December Drabble Day 22 prompt "Stay?"
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: ZK December Drabble [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2058891
Comments: 10
Kudos: 63
Collections: ZK Drabble December 2020





	Stay

**Author's Note:**

> Because I'm trash, I'm late to the ZKDD. Actually, it's because I've been slammed at work while also working on a few other projects. But I'm excited to pound out a few one-shots for this, so stay tuned for more!
> 
> Also, did you guys know I also make Zutara art? You can find me on Instagram & Twitter under the handle the_savage_daughter0627, on DeviantArt under the-savage-daughter, and on Tumblr under the-savage-daughter627.

Zuko wakes to a room that is dark and hot. His abdomen is a mess of pain, burning, twitching,  _ searing _ pain that makes him want to cry out. Instead, he clutches his hand to his stomach and feels thick cotton bandages there instead of flesh.

His head is a thundering mess of pain and all he wants is to fall back asleep. But he can’t, because the pain in his stomach is too great. And he’s  _ hot,  _ his skin drenched in sweat. Why is it so warm in this room? And where is he, anyway?

Zuko tries to force himself into a sitting position but the wound beneath the bandages protests loudly and he cries out as he collapses against the pillows.

Suddenly a figure shoots up beside him. “Zuko?”

Through the pain that pulses from his stomach and down his chi paths, he recognizes that voice. It’s Katara. Then she is filling his vision, her ocean eyes filled with concern as her thick hair forms a curtain between them and the rest of the world.

“Katara?” he rasps out. His throat is scratchy and dry, and he wonders how long he’s been asleep. 

Her eyes close for the briefest moment before she opens them and smiles weakly at him. “You’re awake.” She sinks back onto her knees beside him and lets out a breath of relief. “I…was starting to worry.”

“How long have I been out?” 

“Five days. It’s been five days.”

Zuko’s eyes flash to hers as panic wells in his chest. “Are you serious? What happened? Did I miss the comet?”

Her brow furrows as she frowns. “Zuko, you don’t remember? The Agni Kai?”

“Agni Kai?” It’s Zuko’s turn to frown as he tries to call up memories through the murk filling his brain. 

“You fought Azula,” Katara says quietly. “You almost had her too. But then...she attacked me with lightning. You jumped in the way...to save me.”

Zuko looks down at the bandages wrapped around his torso. It’s dark in here, so he looks for a candle or sconce. When he finds one, he lights it with a flick of his fingertips. The fire that leaves him is weak and yellow, and it pulls at his inner fire painfully enough that he gasps.

“Zuko!” Katara admonishes him. “You’re hurt! Y-you’re weak! You shouldn’t bend.”

“I didn’t redirect it, did I?” Zuko murmurs through the cloud of pain and nausea rolling over him.

Katara touches his hand. It’s gentle and her skin is cool. Or maybe he’s just that warm. 

“No,” she says softly. “You didn’t.”

“I shouldn’t be alive.” 

The memories are coming back slowly now. A blood-red sky, the roaring flames of his inner fire. A young girl and her brother fighting in an Agni Kai. He remembers now the way the lightning crackled at Azula’s fingertips, white-hot and deadly blue. He had been ready for it, but to his horror, she had sent the deadly bolt at the one person present who couldn’t defend herself. Katara.

But she was alive. She was  _ safe.  _ So what had happened? Had he somehow defeated Azula? Zuko still doesn’t remember that part.

“You almost didn’t make it,” Katara murmurs.

“What happened?”

Katara exhales a shaky breath. She’s not looking at his face. Her eyes are concentrated on the bandages. 

“You collapsed.” Her voice is a whisper. “I tried to get to you, but Azula attacked me. I managed to stop her.”

Zuko swallows hard. “Is she dead?”

Katara shakes her head. “No. She’s in the prison tower. She’s...she’s gone though, Zuko. Her mind is broken.”

Zuko squeezes his eyes shut. Azula had always been the strong one. But he had known when he had seen her that day that she was cracking. And now she was split wide open, madness and melancholy all in one. He couldn’t save her. 

“I’m sorry,” Katara whispers.

Zuko reaches out and touches her arm. “Don’t be. You did what you had to do. You...you saved me.”

Tears sparkle in her eyes. “I couldn’t let you die.” She looks around the room. “I’ve been here all this time, healing you, keeping you alive.”

“What about the palace healers?”

She gives him a half-hearted grin. “Who needs palace healers when you have a master waterbender?”

Zuko returns the half-smile. “Fair enough.”

Katara appraises him. “I should probably heal you again. It’s easier when you’re awake. And then we should probably get you something to eat.”

Zuko grimaces. Food is the last thing he wants right now. But he’ll eat just to put Katara at ease. Has she really been here this whole time, standing vigil over him? He takes in her appearance: her singed and dirty kaftan, her wild, tangled hair, the deep shadows beneath her eyes. Yes, she has been here the whole time. 

So she heals him, and then she calls a servant to bring them something to eat. They sit on his bed in the quiet of his bedroom while the world around them realizes that the war is over and the dawning of a new era is upon them. 

Zuko will be the Fire Lord, but he doesn’t think about that. He thinks about the waterbender beside him, the one who has gone from enemy to friend, someone who will do everything she can to heal him. Who was willing to die for him. 

And when she gets up to leave, to tell their friends that he’s going to be alright, he catches her by the hand.

“Katara.” He feels stronger with her hand in his.

She looks at him, surprised. “Zuko?”

“Stay?” he asks softly.

She smiles at him. “Okay.”

So she does.


End file.
